Saturday, October 20, 2012

A Month of Firsts

This month has been full of firsts for "The Accidental Teacher". For the first time tonight I am making spaghetti squash! I love spaghetti squash and have eaten it in many forms, however I have never attempted to make it myself. That ends tonight!

It also occurred to me as I was using a sledge hammer to cut my squash into halves, that this month has been full of firsts. Here they are in no particular order:My daughter Maddie turned 10 - the first of my daughters to hit double digits! Along with turning ten, Maddie hosted her first sleepover at our house.This year was the first time we went to a new pumpkin patch. We go to the same one every year and we LOVE it, however it was closed on the Sunday we tried to go. So we ventured out into Southwest Washington and found a new place. It had the best pumpkins (although that could have been because it was under the power lines!)

We did go back to our favorite place, where for the first time I had a friend take pictures of my children. She is so talented!

I know it is a LOT of pictures, but aren't they fabulous!

I also had the privilege of being on the design team to help revise our district common math assessment so that it aligns with the common core state standards. If you had met me 3-4 years ago and asked me about keeping "data"; I would have laughed at you and said, "No, I don't keep data. It's only one moment our of one part of a child's life and does not reflect the whole child."Not anymore. I have been reborn into a data queen. For the first time I love data. Not literally of course, however I have learned how to use it effectively to help me see the learner better. I have learned how to take my anecdotal notes from conferring during workshop and combine that with the checklists I love AND align all of that to the standards. I did not do this alone, I had the fabulous help of my first grade team. Together we came up with a common data format so that when we look at student work in our PLC, we have the same data charts. Now we are comparing apples to apples in stead of apples to oranges to pears to bananas! We created one for each of the writing units we are teaching this year. Here is the one for Personal Narratives:This is also the first time I've ever contemplated doing something else with my life. I have been a classroom teacher for 13 years and have been working with children in some capacity (swim lessons, baby-sitting, day camp, etc) since I was 12. I am on several teams and committees this year where I get to design professional development and staff development and plan curriculum. I am really enjoying it. It has me thinking that I want to try out something new. Something different. I know every teacher goes through this. And maybe this is a mid-life crisis. I am closer to 40 than 30. But the possibility of something else is a little exciting!One last first ~ This is the first year I have raked leaves. I usually leave them on the ground, but this year I raked. I also had a helper!

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About Me

I have been teaching 12 years, all of them in grades k-2. I am currently teaching a k-1st loop and loving it.( I have my bachelor and master degrees in elementary education and last year I earned my National Board Certification in Early Childhood Education. I have 2 darling daughters (most of the time) and a wonderful husband, Mr. M. I love cooking, doing anything in the outdoors and traveling.